Pilgrim's Caravan
You see that city? You can go to that city! But also like the mountains or whatever.
The caravan starts rolling at dawn today, through a forest so green that the locals call it Emerald. People here say that the trees drop gems rather than seeds, and the flowers have flakes of gold for petals. The children and the naïve of the Pilgrimage are already running alongside the caravans- hunting for their fortune in the grass. Everyone in the Pilgrim's Caravan, one way or another, is hunting their fortune. For some it isn't treasure. Some are here to find knowledge, a new life, new experiences.
Whatever the pilgrims seek, this long and ancient caravan will bring them to more places than only this forest. It has led them each already through shifting deserts and into cities vile with chymical odor, through lands lived-in by elves that only speak secrets and across marshes where the splashing water murmurs your name, through valleys where the sun turns black overhead and over mountains made from the bodies of sleeping giants. The caravan has no destination. And it doesn't have a home. It only exists to roam, from one place to another, trading what it needs to keep itself going, but always, always going. Always finding something new and strange and miraculous.
And if you join the caravan tonight- what will you find?
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General Idea
So, the point of this RP is to create a fantasy game where the setting changes regularly. It's episodic, in a way. We can explore an ancient and imperialistic city one week, and then move to a magical jungle the next. There's no set time for how long we'll spend in each Destination- we'll just stay however long feels natural, fill out any stories/plots that arise, and then move on when the players start getting bored.
In-universe, the Pilgrim's Caravan is a large group of travelers, most of whom really do stay in caravans. They travel all across this world called Alwyne, bringing news and merchandise and spices from far-off places to whomever they visit. Travel in Alwyne is a bit dangerous- with the bandits, the goblins, the haunted roads and whatnot- and so the caravan is useful for people who do need to get around. It's big enough to be heavily guarded, but just quick enough to get out of dodge when something shows up that the guards can't beat.
The Caravan has been around for years, for centuries, so much so that nobody even remembers how it got started. Most people go for the obvious guess, that some old merchant company must have commissioned it long ago. But others with more active imaginations say that it was formed by criminal exiles, cast out from their home city and yet denied refuge in any other, or that a great goddess cursed her enemies to roam eternally, or that a child's game of "follow the leader" simply got way out of hand. Whatever the cause, the pilgrims continue on, traveling from one strange place (they call them Destinations) to another.
I'll be playing with you all, as a character who navigates for the Pilgrim's Caravan. But it won't be me picking our Destinations, because...
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Worldbuilding(!)
The Destinations is where the "Worldbuilding" aspect of this game really comes into play. When it comes time for us to go from one place to the next, I'll pick a player to make up our next location. You can come up with anything, as long as it fits the fantasy genre- the world of Alwyne is massive. A goblin city underground where we find kidnapped elves under interrogation, a forest that comes alive with spirits at night. You are encouraged to come up with plots/stories that could take place in your Destination, but reminded that players do not necessarily have to partake in them.
Either way, whatever you think of becomes canon, and I'll record it in the Lore of Alwyne, a log that I will keep of every place, magic, creature and race that we come up with. Because the Destinations aren't the only Worldbuilding element I want to bring in here: if you casually mention (IC) that there's a race of five-eared orcs who live on the other side of the Uftagarish Mountains, and you feel that should be included in our canon, just lemme know. I'll jot it down in the Lore. If this RP goes on a while, future players will see it, and know that someone thought of that. Maybe they'll add to it.
It isn't only about places. I want to flesh out Alwyne with you all!
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On Joining and Leaving
This RP is intentionally set up to handle losses more easily. Because the caravan has people constantly coming and going, if a player drops the RP or goes MIA, we can just say their character left the caravan at our last stop. Likewise, whenever someone new wants to join, we'll say the caravan has just picked them up. This way we can accept new players whenever, and survive losses without grinding down.
(Plus, I'm hoping that our moving to new Destinations can help prevent the RP from dying too quickly. If people are getting bored and posting is slowing to a halt, we can just move on to a new, exciting place to breathe some fresh life back into things.)
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Interested?
If you've read along this far, you might be interested in joining. Character sheet below.
P.S. I have an unfortunate fondness for long sheets that ask you about things like your character's favorite color, and their worst fear, and other nonsense. Most people are wiser than me, and so do not care about these things. If you, like me, are a fool, I've included an optional "extra details" hider within the CS that asks such questions. (At the least, it might help you develop your character a bit!)
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The Fine Print
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The Lore of Alwyne
There is none, as of yet. Watch this space!
